Conlangs/Otomodaino
* Conlang/dictionary * Conlang/guide Nouns With few exception, nouns always end in 'o'. Plurals are indicated by the '-ä' suffix, which is always the last suffix on a noun. For words ending in '-oä', no distinction is made between singular and plural. Articles There is no indefinite article. The definite article is the word 'cu'. Note that when describing named periods of time, the article 'cu' must always be used. The word 'ĉu' means 'this' or 'that'. Vocative case For speaking directly to a person, the vocative case is used. This uses the following suffixes: Note that in the first listed example, the root word 'John' does not end in a vowel. For ease of pronunciation an '-o-' is added between 'John' and '-tzein'. Articles are not used when referring to a person using the vocative case. Note that this differs from Japanese honorifics in that they are only used when speaking directly to a person. Possession Possession is indicated with the word 'ono'. Diminutive suffix The diminutive suffix is '-enno'. Dative case For expressing movement towards an object, or position at an object, we use the dative case: Pronouns No distinction is made between nominative and accusative cases. Verbs Verbs are not conjugated for person, gender or number. Tenses & moods Tenses are indicated by a prefix. The prefix consists of one consonant and a vowel. If the first letter of the verb is the same as the prefix vowel, it is replaced with an apostrophe. Note that the gerund and actor are nouns: Nin ka ž'inimjat'o. → I like painting. Yine ž'ieran'o'g zezaj! → Your dancing is beautiful! Tine etri'ka'o'' → ''His lover Cu etri'betarila'o llaunar ĉu teitzo. → The visitor preferred this mountain. Passive construction Passives are indicated by the word 'kit' after the verb (but before question words). The verb 'og' The verb 'og' translates as 'be'. It has a slightly irregular formation. In the present tense, after nouns, it may be abbreviated as "'g". In the perfect tense, it becomes 'leyog'. In the future tense, it becomes 'dayog'. This is for ease of pronunciation. After pronouns in the present tense, it can be contracted to simply a 'g' on the end of the pronoun. Negation Verbs are negated with the word 'ne' in front of it. It may be contracted to "n'" if the verb starts with a vowel. Questions Questions are indicated with a question word after the verb. The word 'tre' after the verb makes the question into a simple inversion of the verb, but other words are used to indicate questions with more nuance. The question words are listed as follows. Ability The word 'can' is translated by the suffix '-iža'. Note that the 'i' is omitted if the verb stem ends in the letter 'i'. Noun-ing the verb To describe a person who does a certain verb, we can use the prefix 'etri-', in combination with an '-o' suffix. Past participle The past participle can be used as an adjective in much the same way that that past participle in English can. We simply take the past tense form of the verb and add an '-é' on the end to distinguish it from the regular past tense form. If the verb ends in an 'é' already, we will add '-'é'. Adjectives Most adjectives function as English, and come before the noun they modify. Feeling markers - '-zaj' and '-lem' In general, most positive adjectives end in '-(o)zaj' and most negative adjectives end in '-(o)lem'. Other adjectives are not marked for opinion in this way, but can be, if the speaker wishes to express an opinion on a characteristic of a noun. The adjectives '-(o)zaj' (good) and '-(o)lem' (bad) can also act as suffixes on nouns, being placed before the plural marker. The 'o' is used if the final letter of the noun is a consonant. Adverb marker Adverbs are constructed with the suffix '-ya' on the end of the adjective. These go after the verb they modify. Intensity markers - Comparatives and superlatives Comparatives are noted by the suffix '-(i)dit'. Superlatives are noted by the suffix '-(e)net'. Note that these can be combined with '-zaj' and '-lem'. Comparison marker - '-like' You can make an adjective out of a noun with the '-lko' suffix, which can be then combined with the other suffixes. Suffix order Suffixes always go in the following order: root word + (comparison marker) + (feeling marker) + (intensity marker) + (adverb marker) Prepositions under construction Numbers Numbers 1 to 100 can be seen on the page conlang/dictionary/numerals. Numbers are formed very easily in Otomodachese. One to ten are simply that, whereas the higher numbers are formed by a multiple of a power of ten, plus the 'units'.